New ‘Apple TV’ Launched – No Storage, Streaming Rentals Only (2010)

There is that one more thing we were looking for! Apple have just announced their brand new Apple TV at their September event. So what is it packing? Quite a lot, actually!

It’s Smaller!

The new Apple TV is a quarter of the size that the original model was, which means it’s absolutely tiny. Around the back of the Apple TV, things are super simple, with just a power adaptor, HDMI connection, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, too.

Aesthetically, the box looks great, with a black case and not much to speak of round the rear. For people looking for simplicity, you can’t really beat this!

You Rent Everything

Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? I haven’t figured it out yet, but every single piece of content on the Apple TV is obtained via rentals from the iTunes store. Now, you can stream content over from your computer too, which is a plus, but it doesn’t appear like this tiny box has much local storage to speak of.

Netflix and YouTube

For customers on the other side of the USA, Netflix compatibility is a huge bonus, and will no doubt prove popular. Hopefully, we’ll have a similar service such as LoveFilm arriving in the UK, although I think there may be more chance of Netflix arriving here before that does!

User Interface

The user interface of the new Apple TV is really simple, with a list of your content appearing in a horizontal list. This is where you’ll find your movies, TV shows, online rental services and computers that are on your network as well.

This is certainly news for people who have struggled getting content from their computer to their TV before, and this tiny box would barely be noticed underneath your set.

Price and Availability

The previous generation of the Apple TV was $299, which was pretty steep for the device, and although the new one is priced at $99 in the States, they want £99 here for it too! Sorry, they just lost a customer.

The Verdict

Well it appear that Apple TV remains and doesn’t get renamed to iTV, perhaps the other ITV brand put them off? The Apple TV looks poised to take on living rooms all over the USA, with built in Netflix and YouTube, but can it work as a UK product? I’d have no hesitation in buying it if I could have BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD and the rest of our wonderful TV services on there, but as things stand, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

What about film rentals? We have the iTunes movie store, but without Netflix in the UK and no LoveFilm on the box, we may be a little stuck for options. What do you think? Can the Apple TV work in the UK market? Let us know in the comments below.

The new Apple TV is available in 4 weeks, and you’ll be able to pre-order it from today on the UK Apple store.